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Lucero Sifuentes, a 22 year old reporter has been building quite a resume since choosing a journalism career path. She received a Bachelor’s degree in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at UNC Chapel Hill. She is from Hendersonville, North Carolina but had dreams of changing the world. She always loved writing and even called it “therapeutic”. She took AP English courses at East Henderson High School. She explained how she always preferred written examinations to factual exams. When she applied to UNC Chapel Hill she did not have a particular major in mind. By sophomore year, she had taken sports medicine and psychology related courses. Her roommates were impressed by her powerful ability to communicate through written and spoken word. From then on she shifted her focus to a future in Journalism. She said, “I thank my roommates for encouraging me to pursue this career.” (Sifuentes)

Lucero had to take many specialized writing courses at school. She recalls that some of her favorites included feature writing, magazine writing, and data journalism. Some of those classes took more dedication than others. She explained that the class news editing was “fail worthy” and “one mistake meant failure, just like in the real world” (Sifuentes). Of course, basic courses are required such as computer programming. Not all basic classes were uninteresting though, as Lucero pointed out her eating disorder class was very enlightening. All of those writing courses were necessary though as nearly the entire job consists of writing articles. The informative writing in AP Style of a Journalist is a major ability that must be acquired.

The journalism curriculum doesn’t include many history courses, but rather teaches the fundamental skills required to be a professional. Still, the students learned a few of the instrumental characters in the progression of the field. Lucero described Ida Wells, a female journalist, and muckrakers who “kept the politicians in check” (Sifuentes). There are no concrete books that serve as landmark texts for student. Rather, professors use prominent news sources such as New York Times and The Guardian as examples of powerful journalism. Journalists learn from each other. For example, Lucero especially admires the advocacy (to help others) journalism of Mexican reporter Jorge Ramos and the anchoring of Elizabeth Vargas.

Whilst still in University, Lucero knew that internships and experience are the best way to climb the ladder in the field. She began by interning at the TV station Univision Warner Cable in Raleigh where she learned valuable skills in TV broadcasting. She also has some experience in sports journalism. She worked for the best sports reporting program in the area, Sports Xtra, and was one of eight who launched a travel sports magazine in Chapel Hill, called “Going the Distance”. After studying abroad in Madrid, Lucero became more involved in international journalism and interned at a bilingual news agency. She used her acquired journalist minded writing at all of these experiences regardless of which side of the camera she was on.

Throughout her career, she has interviewed and met a wide range of interesting people from Emmy nominees to international athletes. That is one of the perks as she explained, “The job is never the same” (Sifuentes) and she gets to meet new people. In addition, journalists are constantly learning through communication. The job isn’t all glamour though, at times interviewees are difficult to reach or difficult to deal with. In addition, a sustainable pay isn’t guaranteed and some journalists have even begun homeless. More experienced journalists can earn up to $60,000 a year and celebrity status journalists, such as Elizabeth Vargas, can earn up to $1 million.

A license isn’t needed, but experience is. There are countless internship and scholarship opportunities worldwide. Lucero has developed a particular interest in advocacy journalism, like her role model Jorge Ramos, and investigative journalism. In advocacy journalism, she embraces a more persuasive approach in order to influence readers. In investigative journalism, she must get the facts of a story and covey them in a comprehendible manner to the reader. Simply put, the job is difficult. But in Lucero’s opinion, the effort is worth it. She said, “Journalism’s purpose is to help the community and spread the truth…we tell stories” (Sifuentes). Lucero has made herself known in the field and will continue to climb the ladder of success to make a change, which is the ultimate goal of journalists.